A/N: From now on, I'll be referring to the Private High School for the Gifted as PSG (not to be confused with the football/soccer club, Paris Saint-Germain). Kinesis also abbreviates it that was as well, and thank goodness for that. Typing the whole name got annoying.
That said...
Please read and review! You can be harsh in your reviews if you want, it'll help me become a better writer.
I sighed as I read the messages. Why couldn't she just let the issue go? Why was she making it sound as if it was my fault for not knowing her? How the heck was it even my fault?! Was she really that conceited?!
Ordinarily, I would've just ignored the texts, but for some reason I felt the need to lay it on her. The world didn't just revolve around her, and she needed to know that. Grabbing my phone, I started typing.
Me: Look, what else do you expect me to say other than sorry?
Me: It was already bad enough when we got off to a rough start at Edelstein.
Me: Who the heck just casually tosses a phone that isn't theirs like its trash and tells the person to get a new one? NOT EVERYONE IS RICH LIKE YOU, YOU KNOW!
Me: What's more, you get annoyed at me for not recognizing you? For embarrassing you? Is this really how you are towards everybody? Are you THAT hungry for attention? You want me to grovel at your feet or something? This might be new to you, but I actually have something called self respect. And I have more than enough of it to know I have better things to do than suck up to you.
Me: Honestly, Francis is totally the saint here for dealing with all the trouble you force down on him.
After sending that last text, I tossed my phone down on my bed to stop myself from getting angrier than I already was. I might've come out harsher than I intended to be, especially with how I brought Francis into the conversation, but at this point it didn't really matter now. It was over, and what were the chances we'd ever talk to each other again?
Exhausted from the day's events, I lost myself to sleep.
The following days went by as as usual. When it came Friday, we prepared ourselves for our next game the following week, therefore we were practiced lightly. Today we'd be only playing a practice game and then wrapping things up. Because there were only eighteen of us on the team, we split into two teams of nine. Teams were assigned to us, and fortunately all of us freshmen were placed on the same team.
When the whistle blew, Alpha immediately dashed towards the goal, keeping himself behind the opposing defenders to prevent an offside. One of the upperclassmen saw his placement and immediately performed a long pass, allowing Alpha to jump and perform a header. Unfortunately, David, the starting goalkeeper saw the trajectory and immediately caught it.
"Next one!" he yelled, running the opposite direction for defense.
The ball was immediately thrown to the wings of the field and as one of the upperclassmen, Mesut, took control of the ball, he rushed to the corner. Deciding to mark him and test my defensive skills, I dashed towards him aiming to take the ball away. As expected, he rapidly moved his feet, some movements causing the ball to zigzag between them and some were used to trick me into thinking so. Unknowingly, I left my legs wide open, allowing him to nutmeg me and pass the ball towards Cristiano.
Damn it!
His cross then allowed for an easy header for the opposing forward, giving them a goal.
"Sorry!" I shouted.
"No worries!" my team shouted, dashing back on the offense as our goalkeeper, Hugo, threw it forward. This time, it was Eun-Wol who caught the ball and kept it in possession as we advanced. Dashing to the wings like Mesut, I waited for him to locate me. Without making any eye contact he passed the ball in my direction, allowing me to catch it. This time I was on the offensive and instead of dribbling past the opposing defenders, I instead dashed to the middle, drawing them towards me, allowing me to pass to Alpha who was now free of defenders. Catching the ball with his legs he took several steps forward before kicking the ball towards the goal, only to have it blocked again. His frustration was evident as he punched the air and openly cursed.
This continued on for the rest of the game as we tried to bring the score up to a tie. However, it was crystal clear Alpha wasn't having the best of days as all of his shots either missed or had been blocked, each failed attempt at a goal only frustrating him even more. Unfortunately, our side had lost 0-3.
"Good game!" we all said to each other. Walking back, I made a mental note to myself to improve on my defense, especially my tackling and interceptions.
While many of the players, even those of us that lost, were still in high spirits after practice ended, Alpha still remained frustrated. It was obvious as he was angrily shoving clothes into his backpack. What's more, he hadn't said a word to us during the day. Although none of us had said anything to each other while we packed, there was a silent agreement among us that we were all worried about him. The bigger question was whether or not it was a good idea to approach him about it.
Taking initiative, I approached him and put a hand on his shoulder. Immediately, his entire body turned to face me. His eyes felt full of malice and anger, almost as if he was ready to fight, but fortunately his expression softened upon recognizing me.
"Everything alright?" I simply asked.
He breathed out what sounded like a held breath and nodded.
"Yeah...I'm fine." he replied, sounding a little tired. "Just some...personal issues. That's all."
"You want to talk about it?"
Alpha shook his head. "No thanks. Beta and I can resolve it on our own. Thanks anyway. I'll see you guys later. Oh and if you see Will or any of his men, stay away."
Without saying another word, he speedily walked out of the locker room. Eun-Wol and Joe turned to me as if looking to see if I had gotten anything out of him. I shrugged my shoulders, and they nodded in response. It wasn't like any of us were expecting him to share everything with us.
Deciding to head out as well, I put my uniform back on and shoved back all my sweaty clothes into my sports bag to bring them home to wash. Saying goodbye to the rest of the team, I made my way out. Feeling my phone vibrate from within my pocket, I fished it out to see the cause. Tapping the envelope icon, the contents popped up.
Dad: I'll be home a little late today. Con đón em cho ba được không? (Could you pick up your sister for me?) Maybe take her out and buy her a treat.
Typing a short "Okay", I hurriedly made my way to Rose's school. There wasn't any need for a rush, as today was a short day at school and practice ended about twenty minutes before her school ended, but I figured I'd get a good run in. With soccer practice, my daily runs had been reduced to weekend runs, and I wanted to get in as much running as I could. Thankfully, Victoria Elementary was only a few blocks away from the academy and I was able to arrive long before the school bell rang.
*BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP*
Waiting in front of the school, I watched as many other kids rushed out of the school and into the limousines or relatives that waited for them. I waved to Rose as she came into view and she smiled in return as she said goodbye to her pink-haired friend before rushing to me.
"Anh hai!" she exclaimed as usual while embracing me. "Uâ? Ba đâu?" (Where's dad?)
"Hey Rose. Ba đang bận. Bữa nay ba sẽ về trể. Vì bửa nay là thứ sáu, An Nhiên muốn đi đâu không?" (Dad is busy today so he'll come home late. Since today is Friday, is there anywhere you like to go?)
"Can we go get kem?" she asked, jumping onto my back. (Ice-cream)
"Kem? But it's in the middle of fall! Lạnh quá! (It'll be too cold!)
"Pleeeeaaaassseeee?" she begged. Well, it wasn't like I was going to say no anyway. Rose hadn't been treated to anything for a while, so I might as well just have given her whatever she wanted. I was just worried she'd get sick from the combination of ice cream and cold weather.
We then rode the subway to Kerning Tower, the new and improved version of Kerning Square to buy the treats. Of course, I could've just gone to any other convenience store around town like 7 Eleven or Rite-Aid, but I wanted to give Rose everything to best of quality...provided I could afford it of course. Plus, this was also an opportunity for the both of us to explore the new mall.
"Wow…"
Her eyes shined the moment we entered the multi-floored mall. Rose scanned the surroundings hungrily, as if she just had her first taste of heaven. Excited, she ran to the center and twirled while opening her arms, trying to take everything in.
The tower was several stories higher than its previous version, and had a more bluish interior in contrast to its previous white and gold. Several chandeliers also hung from the ceiling and of course there were fountains in several areas. More stores opened as well. Not too far from the entrance was the new Chaos Root Abyss store, and on the window was a mannequin sporting a new outfit. Checking the bottom, I noticed the price of the whole set being a couple million mesos. What's more, the label also read "30% off!".
"An Nhiên, nắm tay của anh hai. Don't get lost." (Rose, hold onto my hand.)
Without a word, Rose locked her hand with mine while continuing to marvel at the sights around her. Heading to the second floor which was where the ice-cream shop was, I ordered vanilla cones for the both of us. Rose giggled as she licked the cold treat. I couldn't help but smile with her as we both enjoyed ourselves. We took our time exploring the new and improved mall, visiting arcades, more clothing stores, and even music stores before deciding to head home. The both of us still had a curfew after all.
"Vui không?" I asked. (Was it fun?)
Rose nodded her head, shoving the rest of the cone into her mouth, prompting me to wipe away the remains from her lips. Taking the subway back home, the both of us leisurely walked home without worry. I still had some homework to do over the weekend, but I'd probably get it done today. It wasn't like it was hard anyway.
Lost in thought, I nearly missed the sound of laughing emerging from the plaza.
"Well lookee here, not so brave without your manager are you now?"
"Hm?" I muttered. The school plaza we walked past, which I thought had been surprisingly quiet, didn't feel so quiet anymore. Putting a finger over my lips to shush Rose from humming, I stood still to focus on the voices I heard.
"Aww, look at her, she can't even meet our eyes!"
"What a loser! Seems you're still the same even after you're famous, huh? I guess one good thing came outta that! Have someone ready for a fight and the bravado flies out the window! Come on, entertain us a little, will ya?"
The sound of girls laughing then followed. Curiosity getting the better of me, I brought myself in the direction of the source. Sure enough, the voices became louder and clearer the closer I approached. Eventually, I found myself near an alleyway. There, the voices reached near the highest volume they could reach. Seeing Rose tip-toe to my side, I once again put a finger over my lips to which she silently nodded in return.
"Is everything okay?" she whispered.
I gave a faint smile and nodded. Hiding behind one of the walls, I slowly moved my head towards the edge of the wall and peeked.
There, towards the middle and within the darkest parts, stood several girls aligned in a circle. In the middle stood another girl. Based on their black blazers and purple sweater-vests, it was easy to tell they were from PSG. Eager to find out more, I kept my eyes glued to the scene. The center girl, the girl seemingly being made fun of, seemed to be bowing her head, making it hard for me to see her, plus constantly bringing my head to and from the edge to avoid having any of the bullies spot me didn't make things any easier. Eventually, from all the bullying, laughing and shifting of positions, I was finally able find a somewhat clear view of recipient of all the abuse.
White hair, light face and amethyst-colored eyes...
It was her.
There she was, being surrounded by fellow students yet no longer showing the confidence she always radiated whenever she was seen in public. It was a little unnerving to see, yet also a little relieving. Unnerving because it reminded me of when I was in a similar situation a couple years ago. Relieving because I felt I was seeing her for who she really was.
"Anh hai, you have to help her!"
Totally forgetting Rose was right near me, I immediately brought my head back against the wall. Uncaring about my beating heart, I hurriedly grabbed Rose, who was peeking just like me and brought her out of their sight. I stayed as silent as possible, not even sparing a breath and prayed none of them heard her. The alleyway had suddenly gone quiet. Oh no, did they hear us? As I held my breath, I could feel my heartbeat pounding my head like a drum.
Luckily, hearing them carry on with their bullying seemingly uninterrupted led me to believe Rose wasn't heard. Relief flooding my mind and heart, I exhaled and tried to calm myself down.
"Rose!" I harshly whispered, "Don't show yourself! What if you get caught?!"
"But she needs help, anh hai!" she whispered back, her face full of determination, almost as if she was ready to jump in herself. Yeah, not happening on my watch.
I could agree with Orchid needing help though. Whether or not it was my problem was another issue. What, should I just stick my neck out for someone I didn't want to be associated with? Don't get me wrong, it wasn't like I was scared or anything. Believe me, getting beaten from all those sparring sessions with dad taught me a thing or two. I'd like to think I was a capable street fighter. I'd say the bigger issue would be her reaction. I didn't want her to think that I did it so she could be indebted to me or anything, because I was sure that's what was going to happen if I had stepped in. I'd much rather spare myself from the unnecessary drama.
What's more, I'm pretty sure those texts I'd sent a few days ago didn't really put me into good light in her eyes...yeah, not good.
I sighed in exasperation.
I could've just walked away but if I did, Rose would be disappointed. I wanted to be good a role model for her. I wanted her to respect and love me as a big brother. I wanted to set a good example for her. Even if I were to explain my perfectly valid reasons for walking away she'd most likely end up disappointed, and a disappointed Rose was never a good thing. What's more, I'd feel guilty if I had just walked away knowing I could've done something about it. I hated feeling guilty about anything. Imagine yourself constantly going back to the time you ran away and imagining how things could've been had you stayed and done something about it. Imagine yourself walking away from an opportunity to make a difference or just to help...I'd probably never be able to look at myself in the mirror again.
This really sucked...
"Fine…" I muttered. Putting a finger to my lips once again, I whispered to Rose. "An Nhiên đứng đây đi. Đợi cho anh hai." (Stay here, Rose. Wait for your brother.)
She nodded enthusiastically and gave me a thumbs up, wishing me luck. I couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm. She probably pictured me as some sort of hero. Living up to expectations was hard.
Steeling myself for whatever was to come next, I emerged from hiding and strode into the alleyway with confidence. I watched as the circle of girls ignored me while I approached. It was only when I was a few steps away when I spoke that they heard me.
"Hey! What's going on here?" I asked in a commanding tone. As I approached, I noticed their heights and sizes. Many of them had petite figures and barely reached up to my chest. Good, if things got physical, I knew I could take them. Hopefully. Based on their expressions, they seemed to be thinking the same thing.
Thankfully, they only glanced at me before scoffing and walking away.
"Come on girls, let's stop wasting our time and get outta here." the girl whom I assumed was the leader said. I inwardly sighed as they walked away, grateful to avoid a confrontation. No longer paying the bullies any mind, I brought my attention to Orchid, whom I noticed looked like a mess. Her hair and uniform were ruffled, her black blazer was off her shoulders and dirtied by the ground as were her books and bag. Looking around, Francis and the rest of her followers were nowhere to be found. Looks like it was up to me to tidy up.
Wordlessly, I gathered all her books and stacked them up before putting them back into her bag and handing it to her. Slowly and wordlessly, she grabbed it and tightly held her bag in her arms before draping her black blazer over her shoulders.
"Are you alright?" I asked, still bent down to meet her eyes. As expected, she avoided my eyes and didn't respond.
I sighed once again and stood up, knowing nothing I could say would make things better. It was fine if she didn't want my help.
"It's best that we leave now." I said, standing back up. "Who knows when they'll be back."
"Wait!" Immediately, I felt her hand latching onto mine. I could feel her shaking as she grasped it.
"Please...don't leave me alone…" she begged in a shaking voice. I stood there dumbfounded for a bit. Orchid? Shaking and latching onto my arm? What did those girls do to her? Shutting those thoughts out, I pulled her up and helped her get back on her feet.
"Do you need help getting home?" I asked.
She slowly nodded, this time slinging her bag over her shoulder and latching onto the entirety of my arm.
"Well then, give me a moment. Let me get my sister."
I felt her hold on my arm tighten as we walked towards the end of the dark alley. A wave of relief washed over us once we had escaped the darkness and felt the sun's warmth. I even felt Orchid's grip loosen a little. Turning to my left, which was where I remembered leaving Rose, I saw nobody. Wait…
"Rose?" I called out, feeling my heart rate quicken. No response.
"Rose?!" I called out louder, searching frantically.
"Anh hai! Over here!" Hearing her voice, scanned the area until I saw her sitting on a bench only a few meters away. Overcome with relief, I released a breath I didn't realize I was holding and walked over to her, keeping in mind Orchid who was still latching onto my arm. As I approached, I noticed someone else by her side. While I would've been suspicious of a stranger standing next to my little sister, especially when she wore PSG's uniform, I saw Rose smiling at her. It was only when we were close enough that was able to see bottles in their hands. Based on the contents, it was most likely bubble tea, and the stranger most likely bought it for the both of them.
I was still upset. What was she thinking, going along with a stranger?! What if she'd been caught?! Oh man, if that had happened…I shuddered at the thought. Before I could reprimand her, however, the stranger stood up and spoke.
"Sorry about that. I was watching you guys earlier and thought it'd be better if she didn't watch had things gotten ugly, so I decided to buy some drinks for the both of us to keep her occupied."
Finally getting a full look at her, I could see her loosely wearing PSG's black blazer, as it only covered up to her elbows while everything above was only the white dress-shirt and black tie. Besides her turquoise eye,(her left eye was obscured by her hair and I didn't want to assume that she didn't have heterochromia) and orange hair, everything else she wore was black. PSG's black skirt, her leggings and even her sneakers.
While I couldn't tell whether or not she was telling the truth, I couldn't be mad at her as she bought Rose a drink and kept her company. What's more, she even had the opportunity to take Rose away the moment I walked into that alleyway alone, yet decided not to. If anything I owed her.
"Thanks." I said, smiling in appreciation and relief. "How much were the drinks? I'll pay you back."
The girl shook her hand at me.
"No need. I'm just happy to see everything's okay." She replied, looking over at Orchid. "What do you think you're doing, leaving your sister alone like that? Even if these streets are often famous for being safe, that's no excuse to just leave your sister alone and unprotected."
She crossed her arms and gave me an exasperated look. Rose then ooed like I was in trouble, which I probably was. She had a point.
"Yeah, you're right. I'll be more careful next time. Thanks again, miss…?"
"Jett. Just call me Jett. Drop the miss will you? I'm pretty sure we're the same age here." She said, smiling before checking her watch. "Anyway, I should get going. Gotta go buy some groceries."
"Bye!" Rose said, waving as she sped off.
"See you later, Rose. Don't inconvenience your big brother!" she said before leaving us behind. Rose nodded, though I doubt she knew what "inconvenience" meant.
Finally, with us three left, I turned my attention back to Orchid.
"Well, you know where your home is. Mind leading us?"
Without a word, she pointed in the same direction of our home.
"Just...keep walking in that direction…I'll tell you when to turn." she shakily whispered.
"Alright then, let's go…" I said.
The rest of the walk home was awkward to say the least as we hardly spoke a word to each other. Us two, whom I'm pretty sure strongly disliked each other, walking home together while one's sister tags along. What's more, it was a little weird how comfortable Rose was with Orchid. The fact that she was skipping along while holding Orchid's hand felt so...out of place. Then again, it wasn't like she knew of our relationship anyway. What's more, Orchid didn't even seem to mind. I think I spotted her smiling at Rose a couple of times as we walked.
"Take a left turn here and keep walking straight…" she whispered.
I did as she told, and together we found ourselves in what seemed like the richer part of the neighborhood. I knew our neighborhood had rich houses as I often ran by them during my weekend runs, but no matter how much I saw them, there were still quite a sight. Perfectly trimmed lawns, clean and fancy stone statues, each and every house had it all. Rose had the same reaction as I did, but made her amazement more vocal.
"Wow...so pretty." she said. I had to agree.
We kept walking, marvelling at the sights until Orchid told us to stop. I ceased walking immediately and turned my eyes to the house sitting on the other side of the sidewalk.
Like the many houses we walked by, her house was just as impressive with its two stories, perfectly trimmed lawn, stone pathway and marble white color. I also noticed some lotus flowers outlining the lawn.
Without a word, she bowed and entered the password to the gate before heading into her house. I was little disappointed I didn't receive a verbal "thank you", but maybe I was being a little too greedy. I guess I should've appreciated being acknowledged at all.
"Bye!" Rose said cheerfully as she waved. Orchid gave a faint smile before waving back at her and closing the door to her house.
"Rồi, bay giờ mình đi về nhé An Nhiên?." (Let's go home now, alright Rose?)
I took a deep breath as I plopped down on the couch after finishing the last of my assignments.
"Rough day? Difficult homework?"
I looked over to see dad grab the remote and turn the T.V on. Immediately we were met with a scene from the T.V show Gold Beach opening up with Swanson sitting on his desk and talking about his favorite steak restaurant. Sighing again, I replayed the day's events through my mind. How did so much happen in one day?
I then felt dad's arms over my shoulder as he sat down next to me.
"Dạ không. Con chỉ mệt thôi." I replied. (Nope. I'm just tired.)
"Trường học có khó không? Tại sao con nhìn giống như con lo vậy?" he said. (Is school difficult for you? Why do you look so worried?)
"Không phải như vậy đâu ba ơi. School's actually pretty easy. I'm just worried about one of my friends." I said the rest of it in english, regrettably due to being too lazy to speak the rest of it in our mother tongue. It was more laborious to speak in my mother tongue than it was to speak english now. Luckily, dad wasn't so picky with it this time.
"Có chuyện gì không?" (Anything going on?)
"I don't know. It was his business."
Dad simply nodded while rubbing my head.
"Nếu con cấn gì thì con chỉ cần nó ba nhe. Okay?" (If you ever need anything then you just have to tell me.)
"Con biết rồi ba ơi." I reply. I'm sure he knew that I knew. He'd been saying that phrase even before I could understand him. Of course after the loss of mom, I often relied on him for physical and emotional support. Neither of us often showed it but to us it was more than obvious that we all loved each other.
Our conversation over, we switched our attention back to the T.V, enjoying the rest of the episode.
*ringalingading!*
*ringalingading!*
*ringalingading!*
Checking my phone, I saw several new notifications pop up on the screen.
"Ai vậy?" dad asked. (Who is it?)
I checked my phone and saw the familiar phone number.
"Just an...acquaintance." I replied, not really sure what to make of her yet.
I tapped my screen to see the new messages.
Thank you.
If it weren't for you I don't know I would've made it home.
And for what it's worth, I'm sorry.
I reread the texts several times just to make sure I was reading them correctly. Orchid? Apologizing? Now I had seen everything.
Though I didn't know what she was apologizing for, I found myself smiling faintly as I processed her texts. Suddenly everything felt like it was worth it
You're welcome.
I texted back. Though, I knew I couldn't stop there. She apologized, and I knew well how hard that was to do. The least I could do was apologize back.
I'm sorry too. I didn't mean to explode like that.
Maybe next time we can start over.
Feeling like I finally had some closure, I brought my attention back to the T.V, happily enjoying the show with dad.
Oooohhh...drama.
Just to note: 100 meso= 1USD, so that outfit at Chaos Root Abyss cost about a couple thousand dollars...0_0
Anyone remember playing MapleStory and seeing the 7-Eleven and Rite-Aid NPC's hanging around town? Anyone know what happened to them? I mean, they did pretty much nothing, but still...